All members of the Ostrander City Council were in attendance on July 3 for a regular meeting (Vernon Thompson, Pam Kunert, Mayor Pat Nesler, City Clerk Wendy Brincks, Heidi Jones and DJ Start). Heidi Jones addressed the council regarding her candidacy for Fillmore County Auditor/Treasurer. Brian Malm (representing the engineering firm of Bolton & Menk) said Ostrander … [Read more...]
Rich Wicks
Reporter
rich@fillmorecountyjournal.com
What's an Iowegian doing writing for the Journal? That's a mystery. All
we really know is that Rich lives in Cresco (Iowa), and when he's not
working, he can often be spotted chasing his wife and kids around the
neighborhood, hollering, "Uff da, slow down!"
Five churches, two pastors
The Bible has many stories of people who were called to serve God in new and different ways. These believers were asked to take a “leap of faith” to answer the calling. This is also the case for two new pastors in the United Methodist Church, Pastor David Stoeger and Pastor Pam Seebach. They recently sat down to explain the calling they have answered to serve five Methodist … [Read more...]
Spring Valley mulls banning ATVs
The Spring Valley City Council discussed the banning of ATV (“four-wheeler”) usage within the city. Present at the meeting on June 25 were Todd Jones, Mayor Jim Struzyk, Jessy Betts, Mike Hadland and city administrator Deb Zimmer. Tony Archer was absent. Betts and Hadland said they’ve gotten many complaints from citizens regarding ATV usage within Spring Valley, especially … [Read more...]
Mabel-Canton board to meet with city councils
The Mabel-Canton School Board held a regular meeting on June 26. Mark Weidemann, Chris Miller, Business Manager Aimee Lake, Board chair Cristal Adkins, Superintendent Gary Kuphal, high school secretary Lynette Donald, Chris Loppnow, Diane Wilder and Liz Hershberger were present. Jason Marquardt and Principal Michelle Weidemann were absent. No student board representative was … [Read more...]
Three Kingsland board members up for election
At the Kingsland School Board meeting on June 18, the board formally set the dates for anyone looking to run for election to the board in November. The dates for filing affidavits of candidacy will be July 31 through August 14. In the November general election, voters will elect three members to four-year terms. All board members were present for the meeting (Doug Plaehn, … [Read more...]
Justin Ward: World-class bullfighter
Conventional wisdom says that anyone trying out a new sport will “take their lumps” for quite a while before they achieve any type of success. But Justin Ward is not an average athlete. And while he continues to take his lumps (literally), he’s also quickly found success charging at him like an angry bull. Justin graduated from Mabel-Canton High School in 2014, and then … [Read more...]
Mabel manhole project in doubt
The Mabel City Council met in regular session June 13, with all members in attendance (Liz Folstad, Gary Morken, Mayor James Westby, City Clerk Karen Larson, Terry Torkelson, and Kirsten Wyffels). The council heard from Curt Marx (Davy Engineering) regarding the city’s manhole upgrade project. Marx explained, “I wish I had good news to report. We authorized Municipal Pipe … [Read more...]
Wykoff sets hearing on street project
A regular meeting of the Wykoff City Council was held on June 12. All council members were in attendance (Rocky Vreeman, Mary Tjepkes, Mayor Al Williams, City Clerk Becky Schmidt, Mary Sackett and Richard Gleason). One of the first items discussed was the former Wykoff school and grounds, and what is to happen to them. Kingsland Superintendent James Hecimovich and two school … [Read more...]
Spring Valley South Park to ban dogs?
The Spring Valley City Council discussed the possibility of formally banning dogs from the city’s South Park. Present at the meeting on June 11 were Tony Archer, Todd Jones, Mayor Jim Struzyk, Jessy Betts, and City Administrator Deb Zimmer. Mike Hadland was absent. Mayor Struzyk stated, “We’ve got the signs up (in South Park), but we don’t really have an ordinance.” Council … [Read more...]
VFW benefit reaches goal
On April 21, the Spring Valley VFW held a “Rebuild the VFW Benefit Dinner and Auction” at the Spring Valley Community Center. This fundraiser was held to pay for needed re-building due to the fire that destroyed the Johnny Ringo’s bar in the fall of 2017. Thanks to the generosity of the community, and the great turnout at the event, the VFW has reached their fundraising goal … [Read more...]